Queen of the Commonwealth: Standout Posts (Part 1)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Like in the previous articles, I need to preface this article by saying that I did get to see some teams play more games than others, though I did catch every team at least once, so this series is based on what I was able to see in the time I spent at Bullitt East rather than stats or results. I saw a ton of talented players and teams over the 4 day tournament, but here are some of the players that really stood out to me at the post position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["158174"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Thomas always leaves me impressed. She just does so much whenever she's on the floor. Even when her shots weren't falling, she was still showing off her strengths. She wasn't forcing and she was distributing to her teammates. When her shots started falling, it only added to her impressive play. She moves to get into the gaps on the floor on offense and her teammates do a good job of looking for her in the middle. When Thomas catches, she can either knock down the shot, get to the rim, or drive and kick. She's a very versatile player and scorer.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["164391"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Thompson is one of the top guards in the state, so it says a lot that she stood out in the post, but she was such a huge factor for her team and helping them win the tournament. She is a threat no matter where she is on the floor because she can shoot the ball or drive, she has great handles, and she can create for her teammates. Thompson was posting up strong and making so much happen around the basket. She can finish through contact and her pull-up jumpers and floaters are really hard to stop.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["164395"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Tisdale is really hard to stop when she gets the ball around the basket. I was watching how hard she was working in the post and she was really working hard to get the best positioning. She posts strong and has many moves she can utilize once she gets it around the basket. Tisdale can also step out to knock down shots. She is an excellent rebounder and showed how disruptive she can be as a defender. She moves her feet so well and she really impacts the game in many ways for her Bowling Green team that made it to the championship game.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["398022"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Hunt was dominating when I saw her team play. And when I say dominating, I mean she single-handedly was killing the opposing team's defense. She not only has excellent length and height, but she also is strong and has great touch around the rim. Her team would just throw it up to her and she would grab the ball over everyone else to finish at the rim. Hunt finished on both sides of the basket and was a consistent free throw shooter. Defensively, she was altering everything inside and coming up with a lot of blocks and rebounds.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["167137"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Baker has a really solid skillset. She moves her feet well and can really make a lot happen defensively. She was coming up with blocks and steals down low. Baker can either post up or step out to drive or knock down shots. She makes good moves around the basket and she finishes on both sides of the rim. Baker's constantly making the extra pass to her teammates and she did a great job on the boards. She was going after rebounds strong, grabbing them as they came off of the rim rather than waiting for them to come to her.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_player":["164404"],"_player_evaluations_5_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"Douglas was so impressive defensively. She's a strong shot blocker, but she also uses her length and quickness to get steals. In the game I caught, Central was without their leading scorer on the season, but Douglas really helped fill that void showing how well she can put the ball in the basket. She makes great drives and she drives with a purpose. She has a really quick first step that allows her to get past her defender. Douglas was a really good rebounder as well and was dominating on the boards.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_6_player":["374123"],"_player_evaluations_6_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"Grant is so strong and has the ability to move defenders down low. She makes great moves around the basket and she finishes strong. She can finish on both sides of the rim and she can handle a lot of contact. Grant was also making strong drives to the basket and had some excellent outlet passes. She was making the offense work really hard as a defender and did a great job grabbing rebounds as soon as they came off of the rim. u003cemu003eI want to note that Grant is not actually the player pictured here. u003c/emu003e","_player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":7,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63af1062ee2b1"} /-->